NOEL Gallagher talks proudly of his appearance on the show. George Best reckons it was responsible for making him a sixties superstar.

Match Of The Day returns to its regular Saturday night schedule this month after three years of Premiership highlights on ITV1. Gary Lineker and the TV team warm up on Sunday with action from the Community Shield between Manchester United and Arsenal. But then it's time for a little nostalgia.

Match Of The Day At 40(BBC1, 10.15pm Sunday) marks the 40th anniversary of a TV institution which started life on Saturday, August 22, 1964.

The first edition was screened at 6.30pm on a new channel called BBC2, which at the time could only be seen by viewers in London and the West Midlands equipped with the latest TV sets.

Worsley-born commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme stood on the pitch at Anfield to introduce the match between Liverpool and Arsenal. Convincing Football League bosses that television would not decimate attendances had been an uphill struggle.

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Sir David Attenborough was controller of BBC2 as the programme developed. He recalls how the channel's executives managed to persuade the football authorities to let cameras in on the basis that nobody watched BBC2. "Which was more or less true."

Just 20,000 viewers saw that first edition - less than half the number of people who went to the ground.

But the lure of black and white TV football and England's World Cup victory in 1966 ensured a transfer to BBC1 as football became fashionable. At its peak, the highlights show attracted audiences of over 12m.

George Best tells the documentary how it set him on the path to fame. "You'd get your 54,000 at Old Trafford watching you, but then, when you talk about millions watching on Match Of The Day, it spread it a little bit more.

"All of a sudden, everybody all over the world was watching. I was getting 10,000 letters a week from fans - and television was mostly the reason for it."

The theme tune changed in 1970 to the familiar music which survives to this day. Former presenter Des Lynam recalls a proposal to bring in another version of the now legendary theme.

"The viewers stormed the barricades. They nearly burned the place down. They hated it," he says. Narrated by Liverpool fan and actress, Sue Johnston, the anniversary programme also remembers the Hillsborough disaster.

Lynam was at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest which left 96 people dead after a crush at one end of the ground. He then had to rush back to London to present a sombre and curtailed edition of Match Of The Day.

Dishy

Past stars of the show are highlighted, including Alderley Edge-born David Coleman, Jimmy Hill and dishy Des himself. Manchester United's Roy Keane tells how he was a fan from his early days in Ireland.

Other memories come from ex-soccer boss Brian Clough, who explains how Match Of The Day almost ended his marriage; and Delia Smith confesses that she once queued up for Lineker's autograph.

Salford-born veteran commentator John Motson recalls how he had to go to a friend's house to view the first Match Of The Day when he was 19 and David Beckham reveals how Sir Alex Ferguson banned him from giving the programme an interview after he scored one of his greatest goals.

Burnage-born Oasis star and Man City supporter Noel Gallagher is another lifelong fan of the show and was delighted to be picked out by the cameras when attending a City match a few seasons ago. He reckons he could give Motty a run for his money at commentating.

"But it would have to be on at three in the morning. I swear too much," he laughs.